This is the official blog of the City of Lakeland, Florida. Check back frequently to stay up to date with all that going on in our beautiful city!

LAKELAND, FL (November 25, 2013) – The annual Lakeland Christmas Parade is scheduled for Thursday, December 5,2013. The parade begins at The Lakeland Center at 7:00 p.m. and ends at 9:00 p.m. at The Lakeland Center. The downtown area streets along the parade route will close at 5:00 p.m. Lime Street between Sykes Boulevard and Lake Beulah will close at noon.

For all parade events citizens are encouraged to use the Orange Street parking garage. The Orange Street garage is not on the parade route and visitors can enter or leave during the parade. All other parking garages are on the parade route, and vehicles will not be permitted to leave the garage until the conclusion of the parade.

The theme for the 2013 Christmas parade is “I’m Dreaming of…” and there are over 120 participants in this year’s parade including floats, marching bands and a jolly fellow in a sleigh.

A fireworks display that officially starts the parade will take place on Lake Mirror at 7:00 p.m. The fireworks will last approximately 15 minutes. The parade route begins at The Lakeland Center, travels along Lemon Street, turns left on Tennessee, proceeds right onto Main Street, goes around Lake Mirror and then heads back to The Lakeland Center via Orange Street (View Parade Map ).